1. Field of the Invention
The invention provides a method and apparatus for climate control of an individualized occupant seat. In the practice of this invention, there is a method and apparatus for providing conditioned air to a vehicle seat's occupant. Conditioned air is obtained from a central source in the vehicle and is channeled through the seat. The air is then separated into a plurality of smaller subchannels via a manifold. The air is then further divided up, i.e., diffused, through a layer of reticulated foam. This reticulated foam takes the place of the upholstery backing foam that is normally used in a vehicle seat. The air passes through the foam, both perpendicular to, as well as parallel with, the seat cushion surface. The air, in exiting the reticulated foam, is directed through the seat covering. The air provides for heating and cooling of the vehicle seat's occupant.
2. Prior Art
Temperature modified air for environmental control of living or working space is typically provided to relatively extensive areas, such as entire buildings, selected offices, or suites of rooms within a building. In the case of vehicles, such as automobiles, the entire vehicle is cooled or heated as a unit. There are many situations, however, in which more selective or restrictive air temperature modification is desirable, the ultimate use of which is to enhance the comfort of human beings. For example, it is desirable to provide a chair or seat, the immediate surroundings of which can be selectively cooled or heated, and yet the modified effect cannot be noted to any substantial extent beyond that range.
It is also desirable to provide an individualized climate control for an occupant seat so that substantially instantaneous heating or cooling can be achieved. For example, an automotive vehicle exposed to the summer weather, where the vehicle has been parked in an unshaded area for a long period of time, can cause the vehicle seat to be very hot and uncomfortable for the occupant for some time after entering and using the vehicle, even with normal air conditioning. Even with normal air-conditioning, on a hot day, the seat occupant's back and other pressure points may remain sweaty while seated. Also, in the winter time, it is highly desirable to have the ability to quickly warm the seat of the occupant to facilitate the occupant's comfort, especially where the normal vehicle heater is unlikely to warm the vehicle's interior as quickly. For such reasons, there has long been a desire for a seat which provides for the comfort of human beings primarily by cooling or heating the occupant, as desired by the user.
One technique employed to attempt to provide occupant individualized comfort has been to use seating which either warms or cools the occupant via conduction. This embodiment requires a number of currently non-standard components, such as specialized coil spring elements specifically configured for heat transfer, multiple layers of material to enclose the non-standard coil springs, and additional air flow barrier layers.
One limitation of this embodiment is that it does not use common elements presently available that can be used to construct vehicle seats. While this embodiment provides some heating and cooling, it nevertheless does not achieve optimal operation without sacrifice of the comfort of the user. Also, excessive accumulation of condensate can occur, with the potential of spilling and damaging the vehicle in the vicinity of the seat.
Yet another technique employed to provide localized heating and cooling of an occupant has been to alter the above technique by allowing some of the conditioned air to escape the confines of the seat in order to provide some convection cooling or heating of the occupant. However, the same problems of non standard and specialized parts remains. For example, non-standard oval helically wound metal wire springs or molded plastic tubes, and a bladder-type containment layer for specialized fluids to facilitate the heat transfer are used. Other non-standard parts can include metal wire plenum coils or layers of copper or aluminum cloth. Yet another non-standard part that may be used in the seat construction is a pair of plastic sheets in facing relationship and heat sealed at a number of points and that also requires a Fluorinert liquid in order to provide for high thermal transfer properties. A condensate collection system is preferably needed along with the air conditioning unit, requiring more complex parts and maintenance. If the condensate collection system were not provided, then undue liquid accumulation would occur within the main exchanger housing for conditioned air. This is undesirable because excessive condensate accumulation reduces the main exchanger performance.
Further problems with the techniques available are that the air conditioning supply units and their accompanying condensate collection systems may require additional wiring apparatus. This includes requiring electrical cabling that is plugged into the cigarette lighter socket of an automobile in order to power the equipment.
Other problems that have been experienced with existing techniques include that the construction of the seats are not easily integratable into existing seat construction methods. The techniques require a significantly greater number of parts as compared to existing automotive seats, and often require non-standard parts. The parts used are typically more complex than other existing air distribution methods. In the past, this has lead to increased costs if individualized occupant cooling was provided. Also, the mechanical comfort of the seat is appreciably affected in the techniques employed, as compared to the comfort provided by standard automotive seats, wherein the user is able to distinguish between the comfort of the two. Further, the current techniques are problematic in the ability for vehicle designers to provide modern seating embodiments and stylistic designs. Yet another problem is that the techniques employed above do not provide good insulation for holding conditioned air until it is used by the occupant.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a simple construction of a vehicle occupant seat which requires little, if any, non-standard parts and which utilizes commonly available materials. It is contemplated that a simple seat construction can be utilized as an automobile seat or other such seating embodiment where the occupant desires to be at a different environmental comfort zone than the surrounding users of the vehicle, room or office. The amount of conditioned air is modest because the area to be cooled or heated is relatively small and localized so that it will not disturb others in the vehicle or room.